Armenian-born Pole who 'looked like a terrorist' taken off flight

A 26-year-old Polish national of Armenian origin was removed from a plane in the coastal city of Gdańsk after a fellow passenger was alarmed by the man’s ethnic appearance, Radio Gdańsk reports.

Photo: cc/Flickr.com/Pauls imaging

Antiterrorist and Internal Security Agency (ABW) officers boarded the Wizzair plane bound for London last week after a distressed woman informed the crew that the man "looked like a terrorist", according to the report.

The Armenian-born man, who has been living in Poland since he was three, was granted Polish citizenship four years ago. He had been cleared for the flight at a border control, Radio Gdańsk says.

He was detained by border guards for three hours. Following questioning by the Internal Security Agency, he was offered an apology and released.

The next day, the man was refused entry to another plane to the British capital by Wizzair’s ground crew as he was “on [the airline’s] terrorist list,” Radio Gdańsk reports.

It was only this past weekend that he managed to fly to London, after he took a train to Warsaw and boarded a flight operated by Polish national air carrier LOT.

“I was treated like a criminal and humiliated in front of fellow passengers,” the man complained in an interview with Radio Gdańsk. He now intends to take legal action against the low-cost airline. (aba/pk)